


Safe and Sound

by MelodyoftheVoid



Series: Fading Reflections [9]
Category: Invader Zim
Genre: (mentioned) - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, I swear, M/M, Mind Control, Nightmares, Sleepy Cuddles, just some good old fashioned fluff, only fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:46:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27663575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodyoftheVoid/pseuds/MelodyoftheVoid
Summary: Sometimes after a nightmare, you need a reminder of what is real...
Relationships: Dib & Zim (Invader Zim), Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Series: Fading Reflections [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1817320
Comments: 22
Kudos: 93





	Safe and Sound

The mirror shattered along with Zim’s heart. The pieces shining and flashing in the light of the cathedral like the last glimmers of a happy ending disappearing before his eyes. The unhinged cackling of Zib as he stood victorious over his brother rang unending in his ears.

Zim watched petrified as Red and Purple sprung to his defense, their rapiers blazing white hot with plasma. He couldn’t even manage to cry out when he watched Zib’s sword plunge straight through Red’s chest. Purple soon following in his wake. Tears poured out of his eyes like the blood pooling on the ground. The shards of mirror formed a jagged crown on the dark prince’s brow, a cruel trophy only further reminding him of all he’d lost. There was nothing left to fight for, no reason to resist. They’d failed. And Dib had paid the price for it. 

His love was gone, for good this time. 

And it was all his fault.

Zim let the remaining twin take hold of him, the glinting glass only showing his own face. Submitting to the blue light for the final time, letting himself fall deeper, and deeper… The sensation of plunging into the dark, crying out mentally before… Before…

Before his own screams startled him awake. Shooting upwards as the terror and grief seeped out of his body. The taste of salt on his lips while he wiped away the tears. Zim tried to even out his breathing, clutching at a nearby pillow as a means of keeping his whirling mind in the present. Rational thought lost to the terror that the visions induced. 

Were the last few months only a cruel illusion meant to keep him docile? Zim struggled to discern truth from dream, memory from fabrication. He needed to know. He had to know for sure if he’d lost everything. Shaking, the prince lit a candle and crept out into the hall. 

The faint moonlight made the castle feel all the more empty. Wind whistled somewhere in the distance, heightening his paranoia. The cold chill of the stone seeping in through the carpet. Zim shielded his tiny flame, his flicker of hope, from the possibility of being spotted. Arriving at Dib’s room a nervous mess. 

He could hear his pulse race, an unending drumbeat in his ears. The door to the prince’s room swung open with nary a creak;. the dark void both beckoning him forward and driving him away. Swallowing his fear, Zim walked in only to find Dib sleeping soundly. Limbs splayed haphazardly across the bed, a small line of drool at the corner of his mouth. Dib was right where he should be. He was here. He was safe. 

_ Zim _ was safe. 

Through the fresh wave of tears and sobs, he couldn’t hear Dib stir, blearily blinking in the dim candlelight to find the source of the sound. 

“Zim?” 

Said prince looked up, eyes wide with fright and shining in the flickering light. He let out a soft hiccup while Dib felt around for his glasses, concern shooting across his face when he finally put them on. 

“Zim, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Zim shook and trembled, his panic returning anew. Refusing to accept the man in front of him as real. He didn’t even register the words leaving his mouth in hushed whispers.

“Is this real? Is this a trick? Are you dead? I can’t go back; I won’t go back…”

Amber eyes softened, understanding dawning on the recently freed Dib. 

“It’s alright, come here. I’ve got you.”

Zim almost dropped the candle as he dove into Dib’s arms, relieved to feel the familiar embrace around him, a heartbeat calming his own, a hand rubbing small circles on his back. Dib pulled back to hold Zim’s face, gently wiping away the stray tears still running down in rivulets. Dib pressed a light kiss to Zim's forehead.

“I’m here Zim, I promise. Everyone’s ok, you’re ok. I’m here.”

Zim buried himself in Dib’s chest again, letting out a garbled cry. He described his dream, the fear of losing Dib for real, feeling the shards of the mirror in his hands as his brother died in front of him, of failing in the end. The more he spoke though, the more stupid he felt. He knew that it wasn't real, the band on his ring finger should have told him otherwise, yet here he was, a trembling mess. It was silly, it wasn't _true,_ but the panic remained.

“I still can’t look in mirrors.”

Zim croaked out a weak, “What?”

Dib let out a shaky sigh.

“Sometimes, if I look in a mirror, I freeze. I think that I’m still there, that I’m still… trapped. It feels like I can’t move away and I’m stuck, useless, again. Why do you think I keep asking you how I look?”

“Because you trust my judgement?”

“Well yes,” Dib rested his forehead on Zim’s, reveling in the sensation of touch still after weeks of freedom, “but I legitimately don’t know. Gods, I can’t count the number of times that I’ve relived that night when I thought I’d lost you for good. Seeing you so… empty. I almost gave up completely. But I didn’t, and Zib didn’t win. You’re safe,  _ we’re safe _ . Alright?”

Zim nodded, able to breathe properly again. He thought about returning to his own room, but the fear of another nightmare chilled him to the bone. This was not the first reimagining of that disastrous wedding, not even close. This was only the most vivid. The prospect of going back to his room now and having to repeat that horrid vision and go through the process of discerning fact from figments of his fears alone again… No. He didn’t want to go back to sleep by himself. Here in the embrace of his Dib, the siren call of sleep grew louder, the fear ebbing away gradually. A yawn broke the comforting silence between the two reunited lovers. 

“Guess I’ve got no choice but to stay here then Dib-stink.”

The sound of Dib’s light laughter only solidified his decision. Not just for tonight. He didn’t plan on leaving Dib’s side for a long time. 

“I guess I’m stuck too then.”

Dib blew out the candle as Zim buried himself in Dib’s many blankets, the familiar scent of pine and earth enveloping him. He’d forgotten how much he’d missed it while Dib was gone. He curled into Dib and drifted off in time to the slow breaths of his beloved. Secure in the knowledge that he would never again be separated from Dib again. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I woke up one morning months ago and this was the result. I just thought... about how Zim smol... perfect for holding... So this was the result. I'm just finishing up with finals, so the epilogue epilogue and the bad end chapter will be on their way. My brain was just fucking *fried* this week. Sorry about that. 
> 
> -Small note, this takes place before the epilogue so... there's that.


End file.
